Ever wondered why that bend in Ruxton Creek feels like a forgotten movie set—flat bank, odd stonework, perfect for skating? Spoiler: a century ago neighbors carved house-sized ice blocks right there, slid them up wooden ramps, and chilled Manitou’s lemonade all summer. Today you can reach those “hidden” harvest spots in less than ten minutes from your site at Pikes Peak RV Park—no crampons, no time machine needed.
Stick with us and you’ll get:
• A stroller-friendly map that links three ice-pond pull-outs to coffee, restrooms, and trailheads.
• Quick history bites you can drop at dinner (“Did you know horses once dragged saws across this creek?”).
• Photo-ops that turn frozen history into fresh Instagram gold—plus tips on keeping boots dry and kids safe.
Ready to trade your fridge’s ice maker for the real deal? Let’s follow the tinkling water upstream and watch the past pop out like cubes from a tray.
Key Takeaways
The Ice Trail rewards every curiosity level, whether you’re aiming for a brisk workout, a stroller push with the kids, or an easygoing history ramble. Before diving into the full guide, skim these essentials so you know exactly what the creek has in store.
• The Ice Trail is a 3.2-mile loop beside Ruxton Creek, starting right outside Pikes Peak RV Park.
• Flat paths and sidewalks make it easy for strollers, pets on leashes, and most walkers.
• In less than 10 minutes you can reach old ice-harvest spots where huge blocks once cooled summer drinks.
• Benches, restrooms, coffee stops, and cell service are along the way until the last canyon bend.
• Look for stone walls, wide pools, and ramps that show how horses and saws cut and slid the ice.
• Stay on the path to protect the creek, pack out trash, and use rubber-tipped poles if you have them.
• Winter walkers should add layers and simple shoe spikes; head downhill before dark.
• Finish your day with nearby hot springs, barbecue, ice cream, or a quick visit to the Heritage Center.
Fast Facts for Trail Planners
The Ice Trail loops 3.2 miles round-trip with just 240 feet of gentle elevation. Most walkers finish in ninety minutes, yet families pushing strollers or retirees who relish creekside benches often linger for two hours. Pets are welcome on leash, and cell service stays strong until the final canyon bend, so digital nomads can sneak in a Slack ping at Stop Two before dead zones appear.
Start and finish at Pikes Peak RV Park (GPS 38.8561, –104.9193). The path follows El Paso Boulevard and Ruxton Avenue, surfaces are paved to Iron Springs, and restroom breaks hide in plain sight: public facilities at Soda Springs Park, café bathrooms near the Cog Depot, and a seasonal portable toilet at the Halfway House turnout. Leave vehicles at the RV park or downtown lots and hop the free Green Line shuttle; the driver drops you beside the creek while trimming parking congestion.
Ruxton Creek: A Creek With Cold Secrets
Ruxton Creek tumbles from Englemann Canyon, a narrow V-shaped valley named for British explorer George F. A. Ruxton. The waterway served as one of Manitou Springs’ three lifelines, feeding the 1878 gravity-fed municipal system that piped drinking water all the way to Colorado Springs municipal source. Tourists soon joined the flow; by 1891 the Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway chugged up the same corridor, stopping at Minnehaha Falls, Iron Springs, and the Halfway House.
Winter ice bridged industry and hospitality. Hotels and boarding houses packed creek-cut blocks into sawdust-lined sheds, preserving meat and produce during blistering Colorado summers. When the Manitou Hydro-Electric Plant hummed online in 1905, electricity began edging out natural ice, yet the tradition lingered into the 1920s hydro history. Walk the banks today and you still spot stone footings, flattened berms, and the broad pools that once gleamed like back-country skating rinks.
From RV Door to Ice Floor: Navigating the Creek
Step off your campsite, cross El Paso Boulevard, and roll west 0.4 mile. At the Canon Avenue junction, veer left onto Ruxton Avenue; the soft burble you hear is the creek talking history. Wide sidewalks guide families to the first landmark—the old municipal intake pool above Winter Street. The flat bank lets kids dip toes while grown-ups imagine workers scoring a checkerboard into eight-inch-thick ice.
Continue 0.6 mile to the Iron Springs corridor, a sensory mash-up of bubbling mineral kiosks, coffee carts, and the Cog Railway’s crimson cars. Benches line the shoulder, perfect for retirees pacing themselves or influencers framing the 1910 Iron Springs Geyser pavilion. Another 1.5 miles of gradual grade places you at the Halfway House pull-off, now a meadow ringed by spruce. Signs warn against parking on the narrow road; instead, use the signed turnout and scout the open flat where ice once stacked higher than a boxcar.
Inside the Ice Trade: How Neighbors Turned Water to Wealth
Harvest season began only when the creek wore at least eight inches of clear ice, a threshold strong enough to hold horse-drawn plows. Crews first scored a grid, then men with handsaws separated 22-by-32-inch blocks that glided along a flooded channel to shore. Wooden ramps, greased with pine tar, tilted the shimmering cubes toward sleds waiting at road level.
Tools were straightforward yet ingenious. An ice plow—picture a wagon wheel sprouting steel teeth—cut parallel lanes, while pike poles nudged stray slabs back into line. Sawdust provided miraculous insulation; stacked blocks could survive well into August, ready to cool lemonade at Manitou porch parties. Kids will grin at this trivia: local legend claims teenagers raced loose blocks downstream, loser springing for hot cocoa at the depot café.
Pick Your Pace, Find Your Fun
Families and retirees often turn the outing into a low-impact loop, strolling only to Iron Springs where sidewalks stay even and benches sit every quarter mile. The grade never exceeds five percent, stroller wheels roll smoothly, and restrooms plus drinking fountains cluster nearby. For extra comfort, look for the shaded bench halfway between Winter Street and the depot—a sweet spot to share grandkid stories while the creek gurgles below.
Adventure seekers hunger for stats, so here you go: tack on the Incline bailout spur to add 600 feet of gain in just 0.4 mile. The GPS pin is 38.8568, –104.9341, and average hikers clock twenty minutes to the overlook. Meanwhile millennial shutterbugs will score best morning light at the Minnehaha spillway; golden rays bounce off the old rail trestle, giving depth to reels without a filter. Digital nomads? Iron Springs Chateau opens Wi-Fi at 8 a.m., and the patio stays quiet until tour buses arrive after lunch.
Creek Care 101: Walk Lightly, Give Back
Ruxton Creek’s riparian corridor looks rugged, yet its banks erode quickly when feet stray from pavement. Stay on existing paths, resist the lure of polished stone slabs, and teach kids that even skipping rocks can disturb aquatic insect nurseries. Late summer and mid-winter low-flow windows make the safest exploration periods, reducing silt stirred into trout habitat.
Pack out everything, even orange peels that seem harmless but lure raccoons into trampling banks for scraps. Trekking poles are fine if you use soft rubber tips; old masonry lining the channel chips under carbide points. Locals host creek-clean-up mornings each April and September—scan the park bulletin board for dates and earn coffee vouchers plus major karma.
When Snowflakes Fall: Making the Walk in Winter
Cold months add sparkle and a few logistical hurdles. Layer a moisture-wicking base, an insulating mid-layer, and a wind shell; temperatures can swing thirty degrees between sunlit bends and shaded corners. Microspikes slip over hiking shoes to steady you on north-facing Ruxton Avenue curves where melt-freeze cycles polish the asphalt.
Daylight fades fast behind canyon walls, so plan to head downhill by 4 p.m. Drivers navigating narrow lanes appreciate your reflective vest or headlamp. RV travelers should fill internal tanks, disconnect exterior hoses, and blast the coach furnace for ten minutes each dawn; that simple ritual keeps plumbing from turning into unwanted ice sculptures. A folding shovel and a bag of kitty litter ride under most local rigs, perfect for traction in slick pull-outs.
Modern Comforts After a Historic Walk
Nothing drives home the contrast between yesterday’s ice toil and today’s luxury like soaking in 104-degree mineral water. SunWater Spa sits an easy ten-minute stroll from the RV park, and evening reservations pair perfectly with a creek walk wrap-up. Hunger hits next; Iron Springs Chateau plates smoked meats and root-cellar pickles reminiscent of pioneer larders, while a downtown creamery churns small-batch ice cream—a wink to the blocks you just traced upstream.
Round out the heritage loop with a stop at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center. Call ahead for docent tours that dive deeper into water lore, or browse rotating exhibits on municipal engineering. Share your day by tagging #RuxtonIceTrail, and you might spot your reel on the park’s social feed, inspiring the next camper to lace up shoes and discover where lemonade once began its chill.
History’s chill is literally steps from your doorstep. Reserve a creek-side site at Pikes Peak RV Park, wake up to Ruxton’s whisper, and start the Ice Trail the moment your coffee steams. From full hookups and speedy Wi-Fi to a free shuttle that drops you beside the creek, we handle the modern comforts so you can wander the past. Sites along the water fill quickly when walking weather is prime—lock in yours now and let yesterday’s ice turn today’s stay into the coolest story of your trip. Book online or give us a call; we’ll keep your spot on ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How far and how steep is the Ice Trail loop?
A: The route makes a 3.2-mile round-trip arc with only about 240 feet of gentle elevation gain, so most walkers finish in 90 minutes while families with strollers or retirees who pause at benches often stretch it to two hours.
Q: Is the path paved and stroller or wheelchair friendly?
A: From Pikes Peak RV Park to Iron Springs the surface is paved sidewalk with grades under five percent, making it smooth for strollers and most wheelchairs; beyond Iron Springs the shoulder narrows but remains hard-packed until the Halfway House meadow, where a quick look ahead lets you decide whether to continue.
Q: Where should I park before starting the walk?
A: Many visitors simply leave vehicles at the RV park if they are staying there, but day-trippers can use downtown Manitou Springs lots and hop the free Green Line shuttle, which stops beside Ruxton Creek and spares you the tight canyon parking squeeze.
Q: Are restrooms available along the creek?
A: Yes—public facilities sit in Soda Springs Park near the start, cafés near the Cog Depot welcome customers, and a seasonal portable toilet waits at the Halfway House turnout, so you’re never more than about a mile from a bathroom.
Q: Can I bring my dog?
A: Pets are welcome as long as they stay leashed; remember to pack waste bags and keep paws on the existing walkway to protect the fragile creek bank.